Slater, 6-3, 190 pounds, averaged 30.3 points, 14.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game in earning second-team all-state honors by
The Clarion-Ledger newspaper this past season as a senior. A three-time all-district selection who helped lead coach Geary Jackson's WCHS ballclub to a three-year composite record of 80-13, Slater paced the 2002-03 War Eagles to a 24-5 record this past year, including a semifinal-round appearance in the Class 5A state tournament and a season-ending No. 6 state
ranking according to The Clarion-Ledger.
"We're certainly very excited to have Dietric join our basketball family here at Mississippi State," MSU's Stansbury said. "He's a very versatile player who comes from a winning high school program for Coach (Geary) Jackson at Wayne County."
A left-handed performer, Slater scored 10 points in helping lead the Mississippi All-Stars to an 82-80 victory over Alabama in this year's
Alabama/Mississippi High School All-Star Basketball Game. A 2002-03 preseason selection to The Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen Basketball Team, Slater averaged 19.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.4 assists per
contest to earn honorable mention all-state honors as a junior in 2001-02.
Twice collecting Class 5A first-team all-state laurels from the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC), Slater previously helped lead
Wayne County to 28 wins apiece during his junior and sophomore campaigns. He was also voted the team's most valuable offensive player both seasons.
Slater joins previously announced Mississippi State basketball signees Travis Outlaw, a 6-9, 210-pound forward from Starkville (Miss.) High School, and Gary Ervin, a 5-11, 175-pound point guard from Notre Dame Prep School in Massachusetts by way of Brooklyn's Paul Robeson High School in New York.